They are here
by Ebm36
Summary: Missing scene end of ep6 / s3 Thank you, Beth, for your help and support.
1. Chapter 1

A veil of white dust blurred his sight and the rattling of tiny pebbles briefly broke the silence of the small room when Porthos took off his pauldron with careful moves. He groaned and winced when he slipped his left arm through the sleeve of his heavy jacket. Another cloud of white dust danced in the air before falling in a shower of tiny pieces of wood and stone. Porthos bit his cheek to silence a scream when the thick leather caught something which seemed to be embedded at the back of his armpit, in a place he couldn't easily reach. A flash of white light blinded him and he squeezed his eyes shut, gripping the edge of the table where a basin and a jug of water waited for him. When he opened his eyes again, taking in a few shallow breaths, he stared at his reflection in the cracked mirror hanging above the table. His skin was almost grey, he had dark circles under his eyes, a thin layer of sweat shone on the sides of his nose, and, mixed with the dust, created small grey rivulets which disappeared into his moustache.

He closed his eyes again and managed to take off his jacket which fell onto the tiles with a thud making him flinch. Now in shirtsleeves, he tried to calm his breathing and slow down his heartbeat. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the mirror again. He nodded slightly, as if trying to convince himself that he could do what he was about to do. Slowly, very slowly, he lifted his left arm and let his eyes slip towards the place where his shirt was sticky with dried blood and where a piece of wood protruded grotesquely out of the dirty fabric. He shuddered at the sight and fought back the bile rising in his throat.

It was no more than a big splinter - well, very big- but he would have to dislodge it, clean the wound and probably stitch it. He sighed and pulled on a tool from under the table with his foot. He landed heavily on it and regretted it instantly as it jostled the piece of wood.

He tried to stay immobile and closed his eyes again to fight the dizziness which managed to make him lose consciousness. He let his mind drift back to the moment when Aramis had announced that the King was dying, in Athos' office. The heat of the battle against Grimaud's men had made him ignore his pain, his sore body and the bruises he had acquired thanks to a whole house tumbling down on him, but a few hours later, everything came back and he had to brace himself on the window sill, his back towards the other men, to try not to collapse. Luckily their minds were entirely occupied by the future of France. He managed to turn towards Aramis when he confessed what the King had said. He felt the tension increasing in the room and a rising anger towards his best friend building in his entrails.

He tried to analyse this feeling. He realised that it was an anger born from fear, a suffocating fear he had experienced when he and d'Artagnan had realised that they were about to die, a fear for Aramis when he had read this odd expression in his eyes. Once the King was dead, what would he do? There were no obstacles left between him and the Queen, except that their relationship was forbidden, but his stupid brother would follow his instincts once again. Then there was Athos. Athos' anger against Tréville was palpable and it hurt. Seeing him leave the room with his back straight in spite of his wounds, his walk steady and stiff, had broken his heart. It was as if everything around him was tumbling down like it had been blown up by Grimaud's powder. What if, after failing to kill them, he had managed to kill their friendship, their bond, their strength?

He tried to silence these thoughts but his throat felt tight and his jaws hurt as he pressed them together in an attempt to fight his anxiety and his pain. He felt more alone than ever. He supposed that d'Artagnan was in the tender care of his beloved wife, probably enjoying a warm bath. Athos had probably joined Sylvie, the only person who was able to endure his anger and his bad moods and Aramis … Porthos shivered at the thought. He was ready to bet his precious sword and his golden ring that the foolish man had managed to meet the Queen. He imagined him staring at her with his dark velvety eyes -a stare he had worked hard to achieve testing it for years on every skirt which had crossed his path- and comforting her with gentle touches and a rumbling voice. Porthos snorted bitterly, he wasn't jealous well, not really. Envious, perhaps, yes, probably envious, but today he needed a presence, it was not the right evening to be alone. Even if he wasn't quite alone, a piece of wood frame sticking out of his left side was a very noticeable presence.

He stood up again to watch himself in the mirror, plunged a sponge in the basin and began to soak his shirt, contorting himself to reach his wound, a move which hurt his whole back which was probably covered in lovely shades of blue and grey.

Bloody water trickled from his side, down his legs and created a puddle at his feet, the cool liquid making him shiver. Gradually, the stiff fabric which had adhered to his skin began to soften. He rinsed the sponge with great difficulty because the sole move of wringing it made the pain even more searing.

 _It's just a piece of wood, not an axe. You have seen worse than that, like a crossbow bolt._ He snorted.

Worse, indeed, but he wasn't alone. He always had his friends to help him or he had perhaps managed to cope under the influence of humors, caused by yellow bile in his bloodstream, Aramis had explained that this was the theory of the mysterious ancient physicians. It was most probably the mere urgency of the situation which had given him strength.

Maybe he should have said something to Aramis before he left. No, it wasn't the time. The future of France was more important than his sorry state.

He took in a deep shaky breath and began to peel off the soaked fabric of his shirt from the wound. A sound outside made him stop and he listened carefully, but his ears were buzzing and he resumed his work thinking that it was his imagination or just the wood creaking like it usually did at dusk, when the air cooled down and a warm steam rose from the heated earth.

When he managed to pull away the damp material, the pain suffocated him and he had to sit down again, closing his eyes and gripping his side beneath the wound. He tried to forget the pain by creating his own, clawing at the sensitive flesh of his side and biting his cheek until he tasted blood on his tongue.

He didn't hear the rusty hinges of his door creaking as someone carefully opened it. He didn't hear the muffled exclamation or the soft steps on his floor as the newcomer quietly approached him.

"Good grief ..." Athos muttered.

Porthos sighed and closed his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Athos chided. "Porthos, you didn't have to hide it."

"You … had … more important … things to ..." Porthos whispered, his voice weak and broken.

"More important than my best friends' welfare, you mean?"

Athos' tone sounded harsh to Porthos' ears and he lowered his head, then, with a brisk move of his head which made his vision cloud, he looked up again at Athos in the mirror's reflection. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Athos took off his own jacket and went to lay it on the bed. His grimace of pain didn't go unnoticed by Porthos. Deep cuts and dark bruises marred the Captain's face, his moves were stiff and obviously hurt him. When he came back behind his stool, Porthos dared to speak.

"Look at you, Athos. Your face …"

"I could return the compliment my friend." Athos smiled sadly as he began to carefully remove the rest of Porthos' shirt, wincing at the sight of the sharp piece of wood and the dirty jagged flesh around it.

"I noticed that your arm is …"

"I still can perfectly use the other one." Athos interrupted drily. "My God, Porthos, why didn't you tell us?" He repeated with a frustrated tone in his voice.

"For the same reasons that you didn't tell us and … mmmh … because I didn't know …"

"How …?"

"Don't know … mmh … It hurts." Porthos moaned bending forwards, his breathing fast and shallow.

Athos gently squeezed his uninjured shoulder and ran his thumb back and forth over the sweaty skin.

"We need Aramis."

"He has other matters to attend to." Porthos groaned bitterly.

"What do you mean?"

"I suppose, that now that the King is dy…"

"Porthos, stop being childish, please. I sent him to _Le Louvre_. I wanted the Queen to know and to be prepared. He was the best placed to fulfill this mission."

"I don't doubt it." Porthos huffed.

"Porthos, stop it, this is an order." Athos snapped angrily. "Sorry, Porthos." He added quickly when he saw his friend's eyes shine in the flickering light of the candle.

"Do it." Porthos mumbled.

"Do what?"

"Remove this ... thing … from my body."

"Porthos, you know … I can't…"

"Yes, you can." Porthos straightened with difficulty, grimacing, sweating and stared at Athos in the mirror. He felt his Captain's fingers tremble on his shoulder. "Aramis always says that … infection settles quickly ... if there are foreign objects in the flesh."

Athos stepped back and swayed slightly.

"I'm sorry, Porthos, I can't."

Athos ran a hand through his already matted curls then lifted it in a gesture of apology. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't leave Porthos in this state, he couldn't take care of him, he couldn't stay with him and do nothing. He suddenly felt stupid and incapable. He was about to retrieve his jacket, flee the room and run to the palace to bring Aramis back to the garrison, turning his back to someone he loved for the second time in one day and it made him sick.

Something else stopped him, something else made him blush and feel ashamed of this panic which had briefly suffocated him. It was Porthos' eyes in the mirror. He stared at him with so much trust and hope, his dark irises wet with unshed tears of pain -and probably something else- his ashen skin, his grimaces and clenched jaw.

"Athos, please, do it." Porthos begged. "I can't reach it, you must do it."

Athos slowly approached him again, laid his hand on his friend's head and nodded, swallowing his saliva with difficulty.

"I … I will hurt you … I'm not …"

"The more you wait, the more it will hurt. Do it … oh, _morbleu_ , it hurts!" Porthos shouted gripping more tightly the flesh of his side beneath the armpit.

Athos pulled himself together, rolled his sleeves above his elbows and began to clean his hands in the basin.

"Armagnac." Porthos murmured.

"What?"

A gasp made Athos turn around. He had left the door open and hadn't heard the sound of footsteps.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jesus, Porthos, what happened? I came back as quickly as I could but ..."

A sweaty and disheveled Aramis crossed the room in two strides and almost shoved Athos aside to have a closer look at Porthos' wound.

"A whole barn happened … a whole barn trying to … mmmh … to hug us." Porthos mumbled.

His tone was dry and bitter in spite of the humour colouring his words. Aramis looked up sadly at Athos and gently squeezed Porthos' neck, but the latter, fighting his pain, managed to shrug and dislodge the comforting hand.

"... n't need … you." He grumbled curling a little more on himself, sweat running down his neck.

Aramis' eyes widened and he searched Athos'.

"What …?" He mouthed silently.

Athos shook his head with an unreadable expression. Aramis felt suddenly lost. What had been his mistake, had he said something wrong, done something wrong, hurt his friends?

Porthos hadn't moved, his whole body trembling under the strikes of pain running through his whole left side. He could feel his friend's silent discussion, he could feel Aramis' questions.

Athos took Aramis' elbow and led him towards the far corner of the room.

"He is in pain." Athos explain in a low voice, barely audible, even for Aramis whose head was touching his. "He is hurt, physically and emotionally, he is worried about you."

"Me?"

"He is scared that you will be closer to the Queen now … now …"

"You really think I could be … so … "

"I …" Athos muttered averting his eyes.

Aramis grabbed his elbow to make him look at him.

"Tell me, don't you trust me?" Aramis asked his voice a little too loud, his eyes blazing in the darkness.

"No."

Porthos' voice was husky but firm. Aramis' eyes widened.

"Porthos." Athos sighed. "It's the pain speaking. You don't mean it."

"I mean it. Go back to her and lay down your life, our lives, for her. Go and worship her, you stupid wo ..."

"Enough!" Athos shouted in a hoarse voice.

Suddenly, he closed his eyes and bent at the waist, his arms hugging his own torso tightly in an attempt to silence his pain. Aramis came behind him and softly wrapped his arms around him, covering Athos' right forearm with his where it clenched around his belly, and laying his left hand flat over his friend's heart. Athos flinched and hissed, when Aramis' chest met his damaged back.

 _God, what have I done?_ Porthos thought biting his lip until a bead of blood blossomed before sliding down his chin.

"Shh, breathe."Aramis soothed, whispering in Athos' ear. "Let me see."

"Later." Athos rasped when he could breathe again properly. "I'm fine."

He straightened and leaned back against Aramis who had accompanied his movement, before breathing in deeply and pulling away. When they looked back at Porthos, they saw his face shine with tears in the cracked mirror. Aramis sighed and turned back to Athos whose skin seemed almost green in the dim light, his eyes were teary and his too long and greasy hair made his cheeks look even more hollow.

"I'm fine." Athos repeated.

"Obviously." Aramis tried to smile. "And hopefully, because I need you."

He steadied Athos with a hand under his elbow and led him back towards Porthos. When Athos stopped shaking he let go of his arm and crouched down besides Porthos, laying a hand on his knee.

"Let me do it?" He asked in a low voice.

Porthos looked down at him, then he nodded and the mere move made him bite his lower lip again, but he looked straight into Aramis' eyes where he read the plea he had just heard in his voice.

"Please." He muttered, his voice barely recognisable.

Aramis squeezed his knee, then standing up, he gave his instructions to both his patient and his improvised assistant.

" Athos come here, you will steady him."

He reached for Athos' arm to lead him between Porthos and the table. He lit three more candles and positioned them in order to use the reflection of the mirror which amplified the light of the flames.

"It will hurt a lot and bleed a lot, Porthos. I can give you someth …"

"Just do it." Porthos growled.

"Alright." Aramis nodded reluctantly. "Now, can you hug Athos with your right arm."

"What?!" Athos asked his eyes widening and his eyebrows rising almost comically.

"Wh …?" Porthos began.

"Porthos, you will lean on Athos while I pull this thing out of your side, so I need you to grip his belt behind his back and to lift your left arm high enough for me to have a clear view of your wooden friend. Put your left arm around Athos' shoulders. Can you do that?"

"It's … mmmh … embarrassing … but … argh …" Porthos clenched his jaw and closed his eyes as Aramis guided his arms into the required position.

Porthos' breathing was fast and shallow when he finally laid his sweaty head against Athos' chest. The latter whispered in his hair, curling his left arm around his shoulders, careful not to touch the damaged area around the terrifying piece of wood:

"May I have the pleasure of this dance?" Athos tried to joke, but his voice betrayed his anxiety.

"Don't make … me … laugh ... 's not … fu … nny. Ar'mis, hurry up."

Aramis had rolled his sleeves above his elbows, boiled a pot of water in the hearth and was now adding an amber-coloured armagnac in it. After thoroughly washing his hands he nodded at Athos.

"Ready?"

"Never." Porthos muttered into Athos' shirt.

"Athos, take this cloth and as soon as the … thing is out, press it on the wound."

Athos nodded, convulsively swallowing his saliva. Aramis wrapped his right hand around the wood and with a deep breath, he pulled it with a swift move. The roar which escaped Porthos' mouth could have awoke the whole of Paris. He let go of Athos' belt to grip his back, digging his nails into Athos' raw flesh. The latter had to bite his cheek to keep himself from screaming. Instead he tightened his grip around Porthos' shoulders and pressed the cloth forcefully on the gaping hole. He felt the big man shivering against him and when Aramis's hand replaced his on the blood soaked cloth, he placed his palm on the back of Porthos' head to guide it even more close to his own chest, murmuring muffled incoherent words in the sweaty tight curls. They were both close to losing consciousness, Athos felt his knees becoming weak and he squeezed his eyes shut. He had to be strong. Aramis had still to clean and stitch the wound. He felt the strong tremors which were making Porthos' thighs shake against his.

 _God it hurts._ Porthos thought. _But they are here, they are here, they are here they are here they are heretheyareheretheyarehere_. He kept repeating until he felt dizzy and the words lost their meaning.

"Athos?" Aramis whispered laying a hand on his neck. "You alright?"

Athos just shook his head negatively and let his tears force his closed eyelids, hugging Porthos with all his remaining strength.

"I will be as quick as I can." Aramis tried to reassure him.

It probably didn't last more than a few minutes but it felt like an eternity. Porthos was now sobbing in the folds of Athos' shirt while Athos had no words left to comfort him. He was just trying to have a grip on his own consciousness. Then, suddenly, he felt Porthos' arm slide down his back and his head felt heavier against his chest. Aramis had just tied the last knot and cut the thread. Athos tried to stay awake but he swayed under the weight of Porthos.

Aramis quickly threw his needle and knife into the basin and came beside Athos to carefully ensure that he did not fall. He tried to guide the heavy body of the big Musketeer into a comfortable position. Athos tried to stand up and help but Aramis stopped him.

"Wait, I just need pillows and blankets."

"I must … my office." Athos replied his voice broken.

"Don't you dare, Captain." Aramis chided fondly, arranging a few pillows behind his friends' backs and under their heads, then covering them with blankets. "Can I see …"

"No." Athos snapped, then he added more gently. "Will you stay?"

"Always." Aramis answered and Athos thought he could hear a hidden meaning in this single word.

Aramis knelt beside Porthos to apply a thin layer of perfumed salve on his friend's wound then he stood up and looked down at his wounded friends. Porthos seemed asleep now and had instinctively moved closer to Athos, but as Aramis wanted to stand up, he opened his glazed eyes and murmured.

"Sorry, 'mis, and th … k you."

"Sleep now." Aramis whispered, brushing his curls with the back of his hand.

He briefly laid his hand on Athos' warm forehead. He was tempted to disobey his Captain's orders and to lift his shirt to see the extent of his injuries, but he prefered to let him sleep, he would try in the morning, or later, that is to say, as soon as he would have the opportunity to go beyond Athos' stubbornness and famous glare. Before settling against the wall for the night, wrapping himself in a blanket, he closed his eyes and a dreadful image appeared behind his eyelids making him shiver: the evil grin of a monster called Grimaud.

Athos sighed deeply and his mind became blank as sleep claimed it.

Porthos unsuccessfully tried to stay awake and his last thought before letting go was : _They are here._

THE END


End file.
